Cherub: Next Generation
by KerryAdams21
Summary: The agents from the first Cherub series have all grown up into outstanding adults. This fanfic follows a few of the most exceptional agents into their careers as Cherub staff while they try to bring down a massive weapons smuggling ring on the other side of the world.
1. Failure

It was a muggy winter's morning, James Adams was trotting around the ever leaky mission preparation building placing buckets under the various leaks in the roof. 'Rotten poxy roof,' James exclaimed in frustration.

'Would her ladyship like to give us a hand? Or would she rather sit on her arse?' James said cheekily, while rounding the corner into Lauren's large office at the far end of the building. No one else would've dared speaking to the head mission controller in such a manner but James couldn't resist winding up his little sister from time to time.

'I'm not in the mood for your nonsense right now, James.' she replied swiftly, without looking up from her laptop. Her office was immaculate, with briefings and other papers neatly stacked on the counter behind her desk, a stark contrast to James' messy office.

'What's wrong?' James asked with genuine concern. 'It's well above your pay grade', Lauren snapped before glancing up at James' shocked expression. 'I'm sorry for snapping James, the ethics committee just declined a huge mission I've been in the process of setting up. I've spent about four months trying to cover all the angles and now Kerry's asking me to let it go and work on something else.' Lauren said with her hands on her head.

'I can go have a word with Kerry if you want,' James offered kindly. Lauren shook her head, 'Sorry James, but the last thing I want is the chairwoman's husband trying to fight my battles for me.' James walked around to Lauren and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'I'm sorry, I'm just trying to help.' James said almost being cut off by a loud buzzing sound indicating that someone was at the main door waiting to be let in.

'Damn kids always forgetting their access passes' James muttered before excusing himself to get the door. 'You know in my day you would-,' James scolded while opening the door but froze when he saw the state of his daughter standing at the door. 'Hannah! What the hell are you doing here?' James gasped. Hannah was in a right state, her light blue training t-shirt and combat trousers covered in mud with tears streaming down her face.

'I didn't know where else to go,' Hannah bawled. 'I was hoping it would be just aunt Lauren here,' she could barely get the words out of her mouth between sobs, staring at the ground between her feet the entire time, too ashamed to look up at her father. After the initial shock subsided, James took a knee and pulled Hannah into a tight hug before yelling over his shoulder for Lauren. 'Don't worry honey, just tell us what happened,' James said, trying to soothe the bawling ten year old.

Lauren made her way out to the main door and was overcome by a sense of Déjà vu. 'Hannah dear, what happened?' she said, shuffling James aside and pulling her niece into a great hug. 'I…I couldn't do it.' Hannah said meekly in between several sobs. 'Hannah, you have nothing to be ashamed of, several cherubs have had to take more than one stabs at basic training. Both your mum and I had to have two goes to get through it,' Lauren said reassuringly.

'But you both had good excuses' Hannah screamed, 'Mum's gonna be so pissed off when she finds out that I just walked out of the gates.' Lauren wiped the tears off Hannah's face before raising her head up to meet her gaze. 'You listen to me Hannah Lauren Adams, no one and I mean no one is going to hold this against you, you understand?' Hannah nodded slowly before Lauren continued, 'And you have nothing to be ashamed of either, basic training is hard, your dad would've probably failed had it not been for your mother's experience.' Lauren and Hannah looked at James who nodded modestly before adding 'We'll go talk to mum together, okay? But first you should probably take a nice hot shower and get something to eat.' Hannah rubbed her face against her sleeve to wipe off most of the mud, snot and tears before letting out a small smile. 'Thanks,' she said softly before sprinting off towards the junior block.

Lauren looked wearily at James, 'You might as well take the morning off, go after her and see that she's not too upset.' James nodded, 'Thanks for always being there for Hannah, Lauren. She really looks up to you.'

'She's my niece James, of course I'm always going to be there for her,' Lauren said. As James set off on a jog towards the junior block, Lauren yelled 'And make sure Kerry does go ballistic on the poor child!' James turned around and nodded before continuing.

* * *

><p>'Quit? What do you mean quit?' Kerry scolded. Her husband and daughter were sitting in the two leather chairs on the other side of her large mahogany desk. 'Mum, I... I-,' Hannah mustered before being cut off by Kerry, 'Look at me when you speak to me, young lady.'<p>

Hannah looked up slowly trying not to meet her mother's gaze before continuing. 'I couldn't take it anymore mum, the instructors were so mean and-,' she whined between sobs. 'She can always try again in three months' James pleaded before putting an arm around Hannah's back and bringing her in for a hug. Hannah shook her head furiously, 'Please don't make me do it again' she said quietly.

Kerry gave Hannah a stoic look before continuing, 'Hannah, you need to answer this next question honestly dear, do you want to be a Cherub agent?' Kerry said before adding 'You also need to know your dad and I will support any decision you make.' Hannah looked up at James who nodded sincerely before saying 'We're not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, Hannah. We care about you far too much for that.'

'I want to be a Cherub agent, but training is just so hard' Hannah complained, bursting into a fresh round of tears. James tightened his grip around his daughter before looking at Kerry and mouthing 'Go easy on her, eh?'

'Hannah dear, you have to get through training' Kerry said. 'I'm going to sign you up for more athletic training and put your name forward for a few training exercises off campus, okay?' Hannah nodded slowly, 'Whatever you think is best, mum.'

'You know, the Norris' son, Jacob is going to start his basic training in three months' time.' James said cheerfully, 'He's a complete nutter just like his dad, if you get partnered with him, he'll help you get through some of the more physical parts of basic training.'

Hannah let out a small laugh and Kerry got up from her seat and crouched besides her daughter. 'Hannah, I'm sorry for not being very understanding. How about the three of us go out tonight and get something nice to eat,' Kerry said while wiping the tears and snot off Hannah's face with a tissue. Hannah nodded, 'I'd like that very much, and can Aunt Lauren join us?' Kerry smiled before saying, 'I don't see why not, your dad will give her a call to see if she's available, alright?' Hannah smiled before giving her mum a hug. 'I have lots of work to do dear, but I'll see you two at the main gate at 6pm.' Kerry said.

Both James and Hannah nodded before getting up to leave. James pecked Kerry on the way out who made a telephone sign with her hands to say that she'd call him in a few. He nodded before swiftly exiting the office after Hannah.

* * *

><p>Lauren was on James' phone in his office when he returned to the mission preparation building. 'He's just walked in the door, Kerry, one sec' Lauren said into the phone before holding the receiver up towards James. 'Yep?' James said, placing the receiver against his head.<p>

'What are we going to do about this?' Kerry asked.

'What are we going to do about what, hun?' James replied with a puzzled expression.

'She quit after 34 days, James. What if she's not cut out for this? What if she barely passes through training and something terrible happens to her during a mission?' Kerry asked desperately.

James ran his fingers through his hair, 'I think you're getting too far ahead of yourself, there must have been several other kids who quit training the first time but ended up okay,' he replied trying to calm Kerry down.

'What like Nicole Eddison?' Kerry tutted.

James sighed, 'Kerry, you need to trust the training instructors. I'll have a word with Bruce after his shift at the compound and see what he thinks about this, alright? And for god's sake, don't compare our daughter to Nicole bloody Eddison.'

'You're right James, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm already so stressed with all my new responsibilities. This was the last thing I needed.' Kerry said.

'Sometimes it feels like I'm the only level-headed person around here' James said cheekily while winking at Lauren who smiled and gave him the finger. 'Don't worry about a thing Kerry, leave this one to me.'

'Thanks James, you're a lifesaver,' Kerry said cheerfully.

'Not a problem hun, maybe after dinner we can have some James and Kerry alone time,' James replied whimsically.

Lauren screwed up her face, 'Eww, I don't need to know about your love life James' she said.

Kerry put on her sexy voice, 'Looking forward to it Jamesey,' she said before giggling and placing the phone back down.

James had a grin from ear to ear while placing the receiver back down. Lauren had only heard one half of the conversation and looked at James with a questioning gaze. 'And?' she asked. 'And what?' James said straightening his face.

'What did Kerry have to say, moron?' Lauren asked with a hint of frustration.

'Oh that, you know how she always worries, she was worried that Hannah might not have what it takes to be a Cherub agent,' James replied. 'Oh by the way, Hannah wants you to join us for dinner in the town this evening, if you're available that is.'

Lauren nodded, 'Yeah, Kerry told me while you were on your way here. Can I bring Greg along?'

'Course,' James replied, 'Do we still have to call him Greg though?'

Lauren wagged her finger at James, 'You know how he gets James. You'd better not start calling my husband Rat again.'

'But that's his name!' James moaned before walking Lauren out of his office. 'Let's get some work done while we still can, eh?'

'Hah! That's a first' Lauren snorted while making her way back to her office.


	2. Friends

Several sheets of paper were slowly making their way out of a large industrial photocopier as James glanced at the clock. It was 5 pm and the winter sun had already set about an hour ago, leaving the campus dark and gloomy. He hastily examined the mission briefings before pacing back to his office and setting them down on top of the mass of papers strewn across his desk. As he turned around to leave for the day, he noticed Lauren peeking into his office from the corridor.

'Good god James,' Lauren gasped examining the mound of papers littering her brother's office, 'You'd better get this place in order before Kerry sees this mess.' James moaned, 'Lauren, I love you and all but you and Kerry drive me up the wall with your need for everything to be _just_ right. Besides, I know where everything is... more or less.'

Lauren sighed, she'd had a long day and didn't want to get in a row with her brother right now. 'Bruce should be leaving the training compound soonish, we may as well head off now,' she said, while slowly backing out of the office and trying not to trip over the various binders that lay on the floor. James grabbed his overcoat from around his chair and followed Lauren out of the mission preparation building. They walked at a slow pace, following the dimly lit winding path towards the small training office outside the basic training compound.

'Remember when we used to just walk around, go to the lake and just talk?,' James said while looking across at Lauren. She nodded, 'It's a shame we don't get to do that anymore. Sometimes I feel like this job is too much for me to handle, there's just so much riding on me,' she said, sniffling slightly. James stopped dead in his tracks, it wasn't often that Lauren opened up to him in such a way. She had a habit of bottling all her feelings up and putting on a brave front for everyone around her. Lauren noticed that James had stopped and turned around. 'Lauren, you're always so hard on yourself. There's not a single person in this organization who'd be able to do your job better than you, everyone knows that. You care about these kids as if they were your own and they respect you for it,' James said before pulling her into a hug. Lauren laughed a bit before rubbing her eyes, 'You always know just what to say, don't you?' she replied meekly before turning back around to continue on their walk.

'I take it this is not a social visit,' Bruce said with a grim expression when he saw Lauren and James enter. As they approached his desk, Bruce reached over to a filing cabinet and pulled out a stack of folders bustling with paperwork. He beckoned them to take a seat before placing the folders down on the desk between them. James found the whole situation very awkward and was hoping that Lauren would start the conversation. When she remained silent, James stammered, 'About Hannah, we'd just like to uhh know what led to her quitting and uhh what you thought about the whole thing.'

'Right, I suppose the chairwoman wants to know whether I'm too hard on her trainees,' Bruce said dejectedly. James shook his head as he sensed that Bruce was hurt. 'We all have complete faith in you Bruce, you've turned up some of the best agents I've ever seen. This is strictly about Hannah, Kerry's worried that she might not be cut out for Cherub,' James blurted. Bruce nodded, 'Sorry mate, it's been a rough day. We're down to just four trainees after Hannah left this morning and I was expecting Kerry to be up my ass about it,' Bruce said.

'As far as Hannah goes, I don't think you should be too concerned,' Bruce continued, 'In my experience, kids with parents tend not to do so well the first time around because they have something to fall back on. Orphans on the other hand have the grim prospect of being put in a boarding school and receive foster care over the holidays so they'd do anything to get through basic training.'

James nodded. 'That makes a tonne of sense, Bruce, but have you any idea why Hannah would just walk out all of a sudden?' Lauren asked with a puzzled expression. 'She didn't tell you?' Bruce asked wearily. James and Lauren both shook their heads.

Bruce gulped, 'James there was an accident during combat practice yesterday, I scolded Hannah for going easy on her partner and spent the rest of the session watching the pair so that they wouldn't slack off.' Bruce looked uncertainly at James before continuing, 'Hannah performed a textbook roundhouse kick to knock Sophie backwards but unfortunately Sophie hadn't told anyone about her sprained ankle and when she lost her balance, she put her foot down awkwardly and fractured it.'

James shook his head disbelievingly but allowed Bruce to continue. 'As you know, the two girls are best mates and Hannah felt extremely guilty about what had happened to her friend. She all but begged me to punish her for it but I refused since it was an accident and I was angrier with Sophie for not telling anyone about her ankle,' Bruce said.

'So she quit training out of loyalty to her friend,' Lauren said smiling. 'Why wouldn't she tell us?' James questioned, while thinking about the best way to approach Hannah about the situation. 'She was probably worried that you'd be cross with her,' Lauren said. 'Thanks Bruce, you made the right call. She needs to learn to live with guilt if she's ever going to be a good agent,' James said, happier than before. 'We're going to the town to grab some dinner with Hannah to raise her spirits up, would you and Gabrielle like to join us?'

Bruce shook his head, 'Sorry James, I'm absolutely knackered and Gabby wants to have a quiet night. Some other time, eh?' James nodded, 'Yeah, no worries, have a good night, mate,' he said before heading outside with Lauren in tow.

* * *

><p>'Party of five, under Adams,' Kerry said to the maître d' as she led the group into the restaurant. James admired the elegant decorations around him and couldn't help but wonder how much this was going to cost him. 'Very swish,' Lauren whispered behind him. After a delicious meal and some reminiscing about the good old days the conversation seemed to slow as the group tucked into their desserts . 'So I went and talked to Bruce about Hannah,' James said casually, he'd already told Kerry about everything but wanted to see the look on Hannah's face when she realized that he knew why she'd quit.<p>

Hannah looked like all the blood had run out of her face, she clumsily dropped her spoon into her chocolate mousse and stared up with sorry eyes at her father, as if pleading not to go on. James let out an involuntary chuckle, the statement had the exact effect he'd hoped. 'Your mum already knows, silly, and we're both very proud of what you did,' James said with a grin. Hannah realized that she'd been holding her breath the entire time and exhaled with relief before smiling.

'It was unfortunate what happened, but you can't blame yourself for it dear. I know Sophie means a lot to you and what you did was really rather admirable but you must think about yourself as well. You're getting through basic training next time, understood?' Kerry said, with a touch of kindness in her voice. Hannah simply nodded. 'Have you been to visit her in the medical center yet?' Lauren inquired. Hannah nodded meekly, 'She's really upset about what happened and blames herself for me quitting as well.'

Everyone looked around unsure of what to say. 'She needs you now, more than ever,' Greg said clearing his throat before continuing, 'She's undoubtedly feeling guilty about betraying your trust by not telling you about her injury and you need to reassure her that it's not a big deal. Just being around her should cheer her up.' Hannah nodded, 'I'll take some of her things down to the medical ward when we get back to campus.'

'Right then,' James said while standing up, 'I'll go clear the bill, then we can drop Hannah off at campus before heading home.'

'Thanks for the dinner James, it was fantastic,' Lauren said with Greg nodding in agreement. 'We'll head off now if you don't mind, Greg has to drop off samples of his new listening device prototype at MI6 tomorrow and wants to get an early start.' James nodded, 'Thanks for coming guys, we should really do this more often,' he said pulling Lauren into a hug before shaking Greg's hand and waving them goodbye.

Kerry started shivering and tucked her hands under her armpits as they stepped out of the toasty restaurant into the freezing winter weather with only a thin sweater to keep out the cold. James chuckled as he began unbuttoning his overcoat, 'You really ought to dress for functionality rather than fashion,' he said jokingly as he draped his overcoat gently over Kerry's shoulders. 'Thanks,' Kerry said, still shivering, 'I didn't plan on going anywhere today.' The warmth of the coat and the faint smell of James' aftershave reminded Kerry of all the great times they'd spent together and how much she loved James.

As the trio walked towards their car, Kerry, lost in her thoughts didn't notice James and Hannah slowly dropping behind and crouching down to roll two sloppy snowballs. James and Hannah smiled evilly at each other. Kerry snapped out of her reverie when she heard James should, 'OH MY GOD KERRY!' from behind her. She spun at once and was instantaneously bombarded by the two snowballs. Kerry shrieked as one of the snowballs splattered around her chest while the other barely grazed her arm.

'You two are _so_ dead,' Kerry shouted before laughing out loud. She couldn't help but see the funny side of things and pulled them both into a hug.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: I fear I may be taking things a bit slow for many of you. I really loved the interactions between characters when they weren't on missions in the original Cherub series and have tried to recreate some of that here. I promise to speed things up a bit in the next chapter as we follow Hannah through her second stab at basic training.<em>


	3. Hell

_Three months later._

Hannah scrambled out of bed after silencing the buzzing alarm and sighed with relief when she saw that it was 4 AM and still dark outside. Two sets of clothes and backpacks had been dumped on the floor between her and Sophie's beds. Hannah nudged Sophie awake. 'Take two,' she said with a thin smile while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Sophie yawned and clumsily got out of her bed. The two girls went about their daily ablutions before pulling on their light blue training t-shirts, 'Seven and Eight,' Hannah said cheerfully before they headed out towards the training compound.

They arrived with fifteen minutes to spare and noticed four trainees waiting at the gates chatting amongst themselves. As Hannah and Sophie took turns greeting their fellow trainees, the two remaining trainees showed up. 'Looks like everyone's here', Hannah said as she gave the gates a quizzical look. The instructors usually arrived before the trainees so they could make an example of the last trainee to show up, Hannah had a feeling that something wasn't quite right.

At ten minutes past five, the group spun around as they heard the three training instructors sprinting towards them. Mr. Norris, the head training instructor lead the pack with Mr. Hidetaka and Miss Roberts following in close formation. They quickly brushed past the eight waiting trainees, Hidetaka swiftly unlocked the gates and went through while Bruce and Roberts turned around to face the awaiting trainees.

Bruce made a grand gesture of glancing at his inexpensive casio wristwatch before tutting. 'You're all ten minutes late,' he said, with mock disgust. None of the trainees were stupid enough to argue with him, being singled out on purpose was the worst possible thing you could do in basic training. 'You have twenty seconds to stand to attention at your beds,' he roared before adding, 'and I have a surprise for the last one to get there.'

The trainees scrambled as if a bomb had gone off, friendships were forgotten as everyone scrambled towards the gates. Hannah was pleased to near the front of the pack but as she was sprinting past the instructors, Miss Roberts reached out and grabbed her wrist holding her back as the remaining trainees charged through the gates. Hannah tried pulling her arm free but it was no use, Jane Roberts was an ex-SAS drill instructor who had a grip like a vice. All Hannah could do was stare at the ground between her feet and wait for her captor to set her free.

'What's the matter dear?' Roberts mocked in a faint South African accent, 'Having a little cry?' Hannah shook her head, it all made sense to her now, this had all been planned to test her resolve since she had quit on her previous attempt at basic training.. Bruce nodded once to Roberts prompting her to release her grip on Hannah's wrist. This was the part of the job Bruce hated the most, watching Hannah rub her wrist, clearly fighting back tears before sprinting off towards the training hut inside the compound.

Hannah was the last to stand to attention at her bed, catching sympathetic looks from the trainees around her who'd seen what had happened but were silently thankful to not be in her shoes. Bruce and Roberts arrived a just seconds after Hannah, Bruce put on a brave face before approaching the daughter of his best friend. 'Were you the last to arrive, Adams?' he asked, contemptuously. Hannah gave him a sullen look before nodding 'Too afraid to speak, Adams?' Bruce boomed. Hannah muttered a quiet 'No,' while trying not to meet his gaze.

'Did your lazy bum of a father not teach you any manners, Adams? You _will_ refer to me as sir while you're in my care, is that understood?' Bruce barked. Hannah could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth but managed to muster up some courage and shout 'Sir yes sir.' 'Better,' Bruce replied, with a calm voice. 'Welcome to basic training, otherwise known as 100 days of hell,' he said, addressing the group of trainees.

'For the next 100 days, everything you _need_ to know, _we _will tell you and everything you _think_ you know, you will forget. You will fall down several times, but you _will_ get up. You will be pushed beyond your limits but you _will_ follow instructions because for the next 100 days, we own you,' Bruce spat, while pacing from Hannah's bed to the first, glowering at each trainee as he passed them. 'Is that understood,' he sneered. 'Yes sir,' all the Cherub's replied, in unison. 'Take a good look at the person standing beside you, they will be your partner for the rest of basic training and I will hold you _personally_ responsible if they quit,' Bruce said, while pacing his way back towards Hannah's bed.

Bruce walked right up to Hannah's face before barking out, 'Drop and give me 20, Adams.' Twenty push-ups weren't hard for Hannah to do, especially since she'd been on campus since she could speak and had taken part in several fitness courses. 'Yes sir,' Hannah yelled, before dropping down and counting the push ups as she did them. On her last push up she saw another pair of immaculately polished boots walk up to her side. As she was making her way up Hidetaka's drove one of his large boots into her back, forcing her down and pinning her on the ground. Hannah tried everything to push up against the weight of the boot but she just couldn't muster up enough strength. After straining for a few minutes she heard the Japanese training instructor's booming voice.

'Come on Adams, one more push up. Are you telling me you can't even do 20 push-ups?' he mocked with a thick Japanese accent. Hannah felt tears rolling down her cheeks but repeated the training chant to herself, 'This is tough but Cherub's are tougher,' while she continued to strain against the boot, giving it everything she had. 'You're soft Adams, are you sure you don't want to run out those gates to your mommy again?' Hannah didn't respond, she was entirely focused on the task at hand, ignoring everything around her. All of a sudden Hidetaka lifted his boot, causing Hannah to bolt up to the starting position. She quickly scrambled to her feet before staring at Bruce and yelling, 'Twenty push-ups, sir.'

Bruce gave Hannah a pitying look, her face was a mess with sweat and tears streaming down. Peering into Bruce's eyes, Hannah saw that he wasn't doing this by choice and nodded once to tell him that she was okay. 'You look like you could use some water, Adams.' Bruce said while fighting the urge to give Hannah a hug. 'Miss Roberts, would you kindly fetch some water for the trainee?' Bruce ordered, stepping away from Hannah's bed.

'My pleasure,' Roberts replied before she left the hut briefly, only to return with a large fire-hose. Hannah saw what was coming but knew better than to try move out of position. Roberts stood in front of Hannah and swiftly twisted the nozzle, spraying her with a barrage of pressurised water from head to toes, soaking her to the bone in freezing water. Roberts then proceeded to drench Hannah's bed and the backpack that lay beside it. Satisfied with her handiwork, Roberts twisted the nozzle shut and left to place the hose back in place outside the training hut. Hannah couldn't help but shiver, it was still fairly cold inside the hut and being drenched with freezing cold water didn't help.

'Well then, let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks about quitting for no apparent reason,' Bruce continued calmly, 'Basic training is hard but you _have_ to get through it if you want to stay at Cherub and it will not get any easier the second time around. Now get out there run the assault course, we'll discuss the schedule after you get back — and remember, if you're not puking, you're not running hard enough.' Hannah followed the other trainees out of the hut looking defeated with water and tears dripping on the ground around her. Sophie gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and the pair quickly found their way to the front of the group as they had both ran the assault course several times around and knew all the little secrets that made it a bit easier.

* * *

><p><em>One month later.<em>

The eight trainees had fallen into the routine of basic training after copping several punishments for the most menial mistakes and lapses of judgement. Close bonds had formed between partners, each knew the other's skills and shortfalls; and often relied on the other to complete several of the tasks the instructors had set for them. Besides this, the group had really come together as friends. Donnie and Jacob, one and two, were the show-off's of the group, constantly trying to better each other and finding new ways to do things often to the displeasure of the instructors. Three and four were Alvin and Clyde, they were confident without being cocky and often got the top marks in the less physical tests. Dolly and Patrick were non-identical twins and were numbers five and six. At the start of training, they usually kept to themselves but as training progressed and everyone grew comfortable in each others company, they started to open up a bit and join the group's few conversations. Of course, Sophie and Hannah were seven and eight. They were the only trainees who had experienced basic training before and the group usually came to them for help if they needed anything. Everyone thought that Hannah was a born leader and she fell into a motherly protective role right off the bat.

The trainees were in their groups, lying prone on the ground. One member in each group was peering through the scope of a huge sniper rifle while the other stared into the lens of a digital range-finder. Their targets were life-sized metallic silhouettes with bullseye's painted on them. None of the trainees would have any problem making the mark from close range, but from a mile away the targets were barely visible and the shooter had to adjust their aim to cover several factors such as wind and even the curvature of the Earth.

'Jacob!' Roberts yelled with a stern voice, 'What is the purpose of this exercise?' Jacob looked nervous as he cocked his head sideways to look at Roberts. Everyone hated being picked on to answer the instructors' questions because they knew their answers could be twisted around by the instructors to mean anything and often ended up in punishments. 'To learn how to accurately pick off targets from a long range, ma'am' Jacob replied warily. Roberts placed her hand across her face in frustration while muttering, 'Can someone please explain to Sherlock here the real purpose of this exercise?'

Hannah knew the answer but didn't want to take the bait, she felt her heart sink when Roberts pointed directly at her, 'You, little miss perfect, explain why we're here on this gorgeous Sunday evening.' Hannah gulped before turning to face Roberts, 'While learning to handle a rifle is important, it's highly unlikely that we'll ever be in a situation to use such weaponry. I believe this is an exercise in communication and trust, ma'am,' Hannah replied knowledgeably. 'Excellent answer, well done Hannah,' Roberts said. Praise from a training instructor was very rare and Hannah looked extremely pleased with herself, much to the annoyance of Jacob. 'Jacob, don't you think Hannah deserves a reward for that answer?' Roberts continued feigning innocence. Jacob wondered where this was going as he nodded, 'Yes, ma'am.'

'Hmm, I seem to have run out of sweeties, oh I know, give Hannah your range-finder,' she commanded. Jacob gasped, the range-finder provided valuable information to the sniper, without it they'd have to get seriously lucky to even graze their target. He reluctantly clambered to his feet before pacing towards Hannah and placing his range-finder on the ground next to her. Hannah gave Jacob an apologetic look while mouthing the word sorry. The training instructors tried everything they could to create friction between the trainees as practice for what might happen on a real mission.

'Good,' Roberts said, pausing to yawn before continuing, 'Now, each of you is required to hit your target once. If you miss, you must rely on your partner's use of the range-finder to tell you how to adjust your aim. Also, because I'm feeling mighty generous today, each of you gets three free hits, after that you owe me a lap of the assault course for every miss, understood?' The Cherubs looked at each other uneasily before replying 'Yes ma'am.'

A lap of the assault course took fifty minutes to complete and left you feeling knackered afterwards. Donnie and Jacob stared blankly at each other, 'How many rounds in the mag?' Jacob asked, feeling guilty that he'd gotten Donnie in trouble as well. Donnie hit the button to release the magazine and counted the number of rounds loaded, 'Twelve, six each which means that we'd have to run the course a maximum of three times,' Donnie said, feeling a bit less worried. Jacob smiled uneasily, 'Piece of cake, right?' he said, trying to diffuse the awkwardness between the pair.

Miss Roberts cleared her throat loudly, 'Just so everyone has a fair shot, you'll shoot in order until you either run out of six shots or hit the target,' she said, before staring down at Donnie, 'Shoot when you're ready.' Donnie held his breath, trying to remember everything from his weapons training as he tried his best to line up the minuscule target before squeezing the trigger gently. 'Miss,' Roberts roared. Having no range-finder was a severe crutch as both Donnie and Jacob missed all six of their shots in quick succession. 'All right you two, make your way to the assault course, three laps each,' Roberts said calmly, before prompting the next shooter to shoot.

The remaining pairs had no problems hitting their targets, relying on their partners. It was Alvin who took the prize though, hitting his target in a single shot leaving everyone amazed but later admitted that it was a fluke. The six trainees who had been spared from punishment were making their way through the watery soup and dry crackers they'd been served for dinner when Donnie and Jacob returned from their ordeal looking absolutely shattered. They were drenched top to toe in sweat and mud and headed straight for the showers to clean up without saying a word to anyone.

When the pair returned and sat on the dining table, Mr. Hidetaka showed up holding two trays with opaque plastic lids. Everyone realised something was wrong as they heard the rattling when the trays were placed on the table. As the two boys reluctantly peeled back the plastic lids, all they saw in their bowls were six empty bullet casings, the one's they'd shot earlier in the evening. 'You don't come for dinner in time, you don't deserve dinner,' Hidetaka chimed before casually walking out of the training hut. The boys stared dejectedly into their bowls, at the verge of crying but too proud to shed tears in front of everyone else.

Hannah felt sorry for the pair and made her way to Jacob's bed after dinner to check up on him and try cheer him up. 'Hey,' she said, in a soothing voice, 'Are you all right?' Jacob was sitting on the edge of his bed and looked up to see the gloomy expression on Hannah's face. 'I don't need your pity,' he sneered, standing up sharply to face her off. Hannah shook her head, 'Don't be stupid, I was just trying to be nice,' she said frustratedly. Jacob glowered at Hannah, 'Will you for once in your life stop acting like such a stuck-up bitch?' he yelled as he raised his fist sharply and clocked her in the face.

It happened too fast for Hannah to block, Jacob's fist came crashing into her jaw, knocking her off balance and sending her scrambling backwards into the next bed. 'Oh god!' Jacob gasped as he stared with wide-eyes. Hannah was clutching her mouth, her teeth had bitten hard into her lower lip splitting it open and releasing a torrent of blood into her hand. Bruce came running in, having seen the entire incident on the CCTV but still paused a second as he saw the scene before him. Hannah was sitting on the edge of a bed with a bloody hand clutching her mouth while his son stood over her apparently frozen.

Sophie was just making her way out of the loo and had missed the entire episode, she looked confused as Bruce pointed towards her, 'You! Take Hannah to the medical centre,' he yelled. Sophie's eyes shifted from Bruce towards Hannah she gasped when she saw her best friend and rushed over in an instant to gently help her off the bed, narrowly avoiding the pool of blood and tears on the floor. As they made their way out of the training hut, Bruce shoved Jacob back down on his bed. 'Hannah, I didn't mean to—,' Jacob yelled with tears in his eyes before looking up at his father. 'What the _hell _have you done?!' Bruce yelled angrily. 'I... I didn't mean to,' Jacob whined with tears streaming down his face. Bruce could barely control his anger, 'ON THE GROUND, PUSH UPS, KEEP GOING UNTIL I GET TIRED,' he screamed. Jacob had never seen Bruce this angry as he dropped to the floor and started doing the push ups between sobs.

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><p>'Nurse!' Sophie yelled as the pair walked into the medical centre, with Hannah still clutching her mouth trying to stop the blood flow. Dr. Gabrielle Norris turned the corner and was taken aback by the scene. She quickly rushed to Hannah and led her to an empty bed in the ER before gently moving her clutched hand to examine the wound. 'That looks really painful, dear. I'm going to have to stitch that up,' Dr. Norris said with a grim look. 'I'll just go fetch a nurse to help with the injections, would you like me to ring your mum and dad?' she offered kindly. Hannah shook her head, 'They'd have gone home by now, I don't want to disturb them,' she said softly. Gabrielle nodded before leaving swiftly.<p>

'That little shite!' Sophie spat when she saw the open wound. 'Wait till we get back, I'm gonna show him how to throw a punch.' Hannah shook her head. 'He didn't mean it,' she said quietly, 'he just lost his temper.' Sophie sighed. 'Look what that idiot's done —,' she said but stopped when she saw Gabrielle returning with a nurse. 'Okay honey, the nice nurse here is going to inject your cheeks with some anaesthetic, you'll feel your lips go numb in a couple of minutes,' Gabrielle said calmly as the nurse lifted the lid off of a syringe, tapped it a couple of times before gently injecting Hannah in the cheek.

Bruce arrived just as Gabrielle was done stitching up the wound, 'You won't feel much while the anaesthetic is in effect but you'll feel the sting afterwards, I'll ask the nurse to give you some pain relief medicine on the way out, okay?' Gabrielle said as she gave Hannah a reassuring smile. Hannah nodded meekly before saying, 'Thanks, doc.' Bruce greeted Gabrielle with a quick kiss before she explained the situation to him. Bruce walked up to Hannah's bed before asking Sophie for some privacy. 'Jacob's being punished,' Bruce said with a stern voice, 'You still want to continue with training, right?'

Hannah nodded, 'You're not getting rid of me that easily,' she said, with a lazy smile through her numb lips. Bruce chuckled, 'You're a tough cookie Hannah Adams, don't tell anyone I said that though, I need to keep face as a macho training instructor, yah know?' he said winking. 'I know it's not my place, but don't punish Jacob too hard, he's had a rough day and I'm not turning this into a huge deal,' Hannah said while sliding off the bed. Bruce nodded,'I've had him doing push-ups for the last twenty minutes, that should knock some sense into him.'

Everyone was asleep when the trio returned to the training hut, except Jacob, who was straining to complete his push-up. Bruce walked up to him and tapped his shoulder before lifting him up off the ground by his t-shirt and making him stand upright. 'Hannah's asked me to stop punishing you, go apologise,' Bruce said sternly, pointing Jacob in Hannah's direction. Jacob walked forward slowly towards Hannah but wasn't able to bring himself to look her in the eye. 'Hannah, I'm... I...' he mumbled before breaking down into a sob, 'I'm sorry Hannah, please forgive me,' he said after a few sobs.

Hannah pulled Jacob into a hug, 'Everyone makes mistakes,' she said calmly. 'I'm not going to hold a grudge, but I get one free hit after basic training,' she said cheekily. Jacob rubbed the sweat and tears off his face with the corner of his sleeve, 'Anything you want,' he said meekly.

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><p><em>Authors Note: I know not many people read these, I'd just like to apologise for the long chapter. Unless you like them this long, in which case, please let me know. Also I wasn't able to develop Sophie's character in this chapter as I wanted to introduce and reintroduce some of the main characters of the novel. Will definitely go a lot further into the relationship between Hannah and Sophie in the next chapter as the girls attempt the last four days of training.<em>


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